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Silverstone FX350-G fan replacement

exanders

Efficiency Noob
Dec 16, 2019
6
2
I followed the advice as well and just had the courage to re-open my velka 3 and the PSU to replace the Noctua fan with a Sunon Maglev ordered on ebay.

It is definitely louder but nothing compared to the fan that came with the FX350-G. Considering how hot the air coming from the PSU is, I don't regret moving to the Sunon Maglev Mf40101v2-1000u-a99.
 
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Lorec

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Oct 9, 2020
4
2
So I followed this thread, after I got my FX350-G and well, It didnt work for me.
I changed the polarity but My noctua fan doesnt spin up at all (noctua A4x10 FLX 12V). I tried both ways it just refuses to work.
I tried connecting the fan to the 3pin and it works so its not the fan fault either.
Stock Jamico fan runs at 12V 0.16A, whilst Noctua A4x10 FLX is a 12V 0.05A would that make a difference?
 

Snerual

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jul 3, 2020
199
231
So I followed this thread, after I got my FX350-G and well, It didnt work for me.
I changed the polarity but My noctua fan doesnt spin up at all (noctua A4x10 FLX 12V). I tried both ways it just refuses to work.
I tried connecting the fan to the 3pin and it works so its not the fan fault either.
Stock Jamico fan runs at 12V 0.16A, whilst Noctua A4x10 FLX is a 12V 0.05A would that make a difference?
How long did you wait? After powering on, it can take up to 30 seconds for the Noctua fan to start spinning.
 

exanders

Efficiency Noob
Dec 16, 2019
6
2
This power supply has so many different behaviours..., for me it starts spinning at power on with the noctua fan.
 

gusanu

Case Bender
New User
Aug 25, 2020
2
1
I also tried to fans A4x10 FLX 12V, initially I thought it was 5 volts. the behavior is that, fan spins, but only after some time, and barely moving any air, so it's spinning very slow. does it get faster under load?
 

tnk207

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Nov 9, 2020
3
4
I took this advice and purchased this Sunon Maglev
Compared to the Noctua it has 60% more static pressure, 70% more airflow, and a 2,6dB higher noise rating. It is dirt cheap (I picked it up for 6.30 EUR shipped on eBay) but it didn't come with any fan connector or sleeving, just 2 bare wires you have to DIY.

Putting them side by side however, the Sunon is noticeably thinner than the Noctua, I would say by at least 1mm.


While it is definitely noticeably louder than the Noctua, it also pushes noticeably more air, and it is way, way better than the stock fan or the 40x15 Delta I also tried. I would not be afraid to use the 6 pin GPU connector with this fan installed. If only Sunon made a 40x15mm Maglev...

Overall I still would not recommend anyone to buy this PSU though.
- The fan curve seems broken. It just slowly ramps up to max over 10 minutes independent of load, and it never goes down again
- There is nowhere for air to enter the PSU, there's a piece of transparent plastic blocking 80% of the metal vent on the side. However this seems by design and I'm afraid of removing it. (Though maybe I'll do it anyway, I have nothing to loose at this point)

So, I'm dumb and didn't do my research before ordering this roaring beast of a PSU. I ordered the Sunon to replace the stock fan. Based on everything here, I think I'll be fine to get it installed.

My one question is, do I need to worry about reversing the polarity with this fan as with Noctua?

Is there anything else one ought to be aware of before replacing the fan?

Thanks!
 

Snerual

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jul 3, 2020
199
231
Since it comes without any connector at all, just the black and blue wires, there is no polarity to worry about. However you'll have to somehow install a connector yourself.
 

tnk207

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Nov 9, 2020
3
4
Since it comes without any connector at all, just the black and blue wires, there is no polarity to worry about. However you'll have to somehow install a connector yourself.
Feel dumb for not thinking of that... lol. Can I repurpose the one from the original fan? Or is there a good part to order off mouser/digikey
 

tnk207

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Nov 9, 2020
3
4
Okay, so I just finished replacing the stock fan with the Sunon Maglev. For me, I did this because I had built an HT/light gaming PC around a specific case that required a Flex ATX PSU. The Sunon is absolutely, unequivocally much quieter. It's not silent, but the stock fan is so loud it was unpleasant to have the PC on. When gaming or watching something the volume had to be significantly turned up to drown out the noise of the PSU fan. None of this is true with the Sunon instatlled. Under normal use you really barely hear it. Under more intensive use, like gaming, you do, but it's no better nor worse than my PS4. Also, this might be wrong, but the PSU feels like it's running cooler than it did with the stock fan...

For those that don't really know what they're doing (as I didn't when I started this process): This is my little mini-guide to installing the Sunon Maglev. if you want to make this modification, you have two options.

The most straight forward one is to cut the ends of the wires from the stock fan that have the connector (leave yourself some length in case you fuck up), strip both wires as well as the wires of the new fan, twist them together and solder them, and finally cover the soldered connections with heat-shrink tubing. This is simple and cheap if you've got a soldering iron. If you don't, the alternative below will likely be cheaper and easier (if you don't have experience soldering this isn't the best project to learn on).

The more complicated but somewhat more elegant solution would be as follows:

First Google around or use eBay to search for and order the following things:
  • Mini 2 Pin Female Fan Connector Housing 2.54mm Pitch (a pack of 5 was 99 cents on eBay)
  • Female Crimp Pin Terminal 2.54mm Pitch 6 Pack (For Mini Fan Connector Housings) (Pack of 6 was 99 cents on ebay)
  • Steel Pin Crimping Tool (something that goes up to 26 AWG) (This runs the gamut from $7 to $40 I picked one up for $13)
When you've got the fan, and all these parts, it's very simple to insert the wire ends into the pins, crimp them with the crimp tool, insert the pins into the connector housing. then attach that to the fan header in the power supply. Make sure you insert the wires the correct way into the housing (refer to their position with the stock fan's connector). If you fuck up for some reason, cut off the ends, strip the wires and try again with a new housing and pair of pins.

If you know of another PSU that you're confident is reasonably quiet, go with that one over the FX350-G. I've done a lot of research and every other Flex ATX PSU has reviews that complain about noise, (while a bunch that say there is very little noise). The same is true of the FX350-G. Ultimately, I read a lot of stuff that said basically all Flex ATX PSUs are loud. Given that fact, I wasn't really inclined to audition and return a bunch of other units. That said, I imagine it would be pretty straight forward to make this modification on any similar PSU.

So, that's my lesson to share with the group. Thanks everyone for your help, thoughts, information and perspective.
 

maksim_ms

Cable Smoosher
Jan 13, 2021
10
7
Thanks for all!
Want to order SUNON HA40101V4-1000U-A99 (instead MF40101V2-1000U-A99) what do you think about it?

I don't expect that stock fan this will be so loud(
 

Snerual

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jul 3, 2020
199
231
Both that Scythe Kaze Mini and the SUNON HA40101V4-1000U-A99 have airflow comparable to the Noctua. So you might as well just go Noctua if all you care about is noise (at the risk of overheating).
 

Lorec

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Oct 9, 2020
4
2
Writing a little follow up, and what happened to my SFF project.
I didnt have time and didnt touch it till now.
So I followed this thread, after I got my FX350-G and well, It didnt work for me.
I changed the polarity but My noctua fan doesnt spin up at all (noctua A4x10 FLX 12V). I tried both ways it just refuses to work.
I tried connecting the fan to the 3pin and it works so its not the fan fault either.
Stock Jamico fan runs at 12V 0.16A, whilst Noctua A4x10 FLX is a 12V 0.05A would that make a difference?
The above problem still persists.
How long did you wait? After powering on, it can take up to 30 seconds for the Noctua fan to start spinning.
Im sorry for lack of response at the time.
I waited around 1 minute I guess? Nothing happened.

Above pictures present stock fan i had in my fx350-g and two fans I tried this time around.

Stock: Jamicon KF0415B1HR-R 12V 0.17A 8.84 CFM 7300 RPM 32.9dB
Fan #1: Sheng Feng 12V 0.15A ?CFM 7200RPM (shop memo) ?dB (loud)
Fan #2: XFan RDL4010S1 12V 0.06A 5.2 CFM 5000 RPM 24dB

Situation as follows: #1 works right off the bat, after couple minutes of booting into the system starts ringing like jet engine, simillar high pitch to stock.
#2 on power on moves slightly and stops (noctua didnt move at all)

Tomorrow I plan to check electronics market again, since some shops seemed to be closed today.
I plan to get something 0.10A+ ,since I have this weird feeling that fans with low current 12V just refuse to work on my psu (like there is somekind of protection or something).
If I cant find anything I plan to order those:
1. CUI Devices CFM-4010V-158-206-ND (basically copy of sunon maglev Mf40101v2-1000u-a99 which is unavailable everywhere)
2. Delta Electronics AFB0412LB-R00 (a rare 40x40x15 with decent specs 6.5CFM 18.5dB etc)

Of course if what I suspect is correct, they both wont work. 0.048A and 0.06A respectively.

Wanted to share my findings with You guys, maybe someone finds a solution.
Cheers!
 

Lorec

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Oct 9, 2020
4
2
Hi, guys!
I cant edit previous post so I just double post (sorry).
I received both CFM-4010V-158-206 and AFB0412LB-R00 fans.
I made small circuit to test them, CUI Devices fan pumps air faster while
Delta Electronics one pumps more air.
If any of You wants to get sunon maglev Mf40101v2-1000u-a99 alternative, then CFM-4010V (7 CFM) is way to go truly, at 20.6 dB its great.
I really apreciated that AFB0412LB(6.5 CFM) had that 18 dB and that hum was much lower pitch (unfortuantely lack of noise is unavoidable).
Compared to stock Jamicon both are a godsend.
But for me that AFB0412LB wins just by a hairs length, its 15mm width so it fits snug (screw holes are smaller though), also that lower pitch and obviously less loud hum.
Btw. Ive set the fan as intake rather than exhaust, it does make difference!

Also I got those fans from Digikey Electronics, I recommend them as well.
Order confirmed and shipped in one day flat, I received it two days after shipping (US, Minnesota to JPN, Tokyo!)
 

CuMiCo

Caliper Novice
Jun 11, 2020
24
17
If someone is reading this ... I can also suggest to swap for ARX CeraDyna 492-4332. 12,71 CFM @ 33 db. Did that swap on my FlexATX since I was worying about the low CFM of the Noctua.
 

maksim_ms

Cable Smoosher
Jan 13, 2021
10
7
Does anyone find 40x15mm fan with noise level not so hight as a stock and appropriate CFM?
At this monet I use sunon, and it's ok, but I don't like that psu have taped near fan.
 

larra

What's an ITX?
New User
Sep 4, 2021
1
0
The exact same thing happened to mine. Did everything correctly, then just a tiny wiggle but no spin. It seems like the PSU does not deliver enough power for the Noctua to spin... Though apparently this is not the case for other people that did the swap so who knows... I ended up plugging the fan into my motherboard and run it at constant 85% speed in a build with a 3600 and 1650 so very low power. Important tip though: put some electrical tape or similar over the 5mm gap that forms when you install the 10mm Noctua.

Honestly I think quality control on these things must be a total joke. Inconsistent fan power delivery, PSUs shipping with connectors unplugged... Mine also has this big piece of transparent plastic that almost completely blocks the top vent except for a small hole...

Then again there's absolutely no good alternatives on the European market. Only the seasonic 300sug but that doesn't come with a GPU connector and I believe the fan has some weird connector that makes fan swaps hard. Plus, it's quite ugly
hey bro i have the same problem as everyone, the fan is too loud. The thing is I just want to buy the noctua and plugging it to the motherboard like you did it to avoid problems, my question is how did it go with this method and if you remove the transparent plastic.
 

REVOCCASES

Shrink Ray Wielder
REVOCCASES
Silver Supporter
Apr 2, 2020
2,186
3,535
www.revoccases.com
I would advise not to remove the plastic - it is supposed to be there to guide the airflow to the components which need cooling.

Also keep in mind that the PSU might overheat /or you'll risk to shorten its lifetime when replacing the fan with a lower CFM one. At least if you intend running it at higher loads.
 
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